Grübel clings on to his job
UBS chief Oswald Grübel has denied that he feels “guilty” about the $2.3bn (£1.5bn) loss suffered by his bank over the actions of a “rogue” trader and insists that there is no reason he should quit over the matter.
“If someone acts with criminal intent, you can’t do anything… That will always exist in our job. If you ask me whether I feel guilty, then I say no,” he told a Swiss newspaper.
However, former UBS chairman Nikolaus Senn has remarked that it is unlikely he will hang on to his job.
The embattled chief executive is expected to send out a second plea to clients this week urging them not to lose confidence in the bank, which he declares is “one of the world’s best-capitalised banks”.
On Friday he wrote to reassure wealth management clients in a bid to stem any potential asset outflows. “Your assets are safe with us,” he insisted.
The bank is also at pains to emphasise that it discovered the losses, rather than being informed of them by the alleged rogue trader himself.
It claimed yesterday that Kweku Adoboli, the man accused of “unauthorised trading”, came forwards “following inquiries directed to him by UBS control functions that were reviewing his positions”, after which “the trader revealed his unauthorized activity”.
The bank has also convened a “special committee” to investigate rogue trading, to be chaired by former Morgan Stanley banker and independent UBS director David Sidwell. Independent director Ann Godbehere and Joseph Yam will also sit on the committee.The scandal has prompted calls for UBS’s investment bank to be split into a separate unit.